Introduction
Modern slavery is a heinous crime and a morally reprehensible act that deprives a person’s liberty and dignity for another person’s gain. It is a real problem for millions of people around the world, including many in developed countries, who are being kept and exploited in various forms of slavery. Every company is at risk of being involved in this crime through its own operations and its supply chain.
At Red River Software Limited, we have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and are fully committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in our operation and supply chain. We have taken concrete steps to tackle modern slavery, as outlined in our statement. This statement sets out the actions that we have taken to understand all potential modern slavery risks related to our business, and to implement steps to prevent slavery and human trafficking during the financial year 2020.
Our business and supply chains
- Founded in 2008 by Kieren Johnstone and Simon Pringle, Red River delivers complex software projects and builds long-term strategic technical partnerships with our clients. Based in Horsham, West Sussex, we work in industries from aerospace to veterinary, and count household names such as Airbus, Nuffield Health, and EasyJet among our customers.
- Red River is a bespoke software development company working with high-growth businesses, funded start-ups, investors, and organisations undergoing rapid change. In a nutshell we build the software on which our customers run their businesses or deliver their services.
- Red River is based and operates solely within the United Kingdom. With the exception of general office supplies, our business does not require or include a supply chain. We establish a relationship of trust and integrity with all our suppliers of general office supplies. Our supplier selection and on-boarding procedure includes due diligence of the supplier’s reputation, respect for the law, compliance with health, safety and environmental standards, and references where applicable. We haven’t been made aware of any allegations of human trafficking/slavery activities against any of our suppliers, but if we were, then we would act immediately against the supplier and report it to the authorities.
Risk assessment
In the past year, we conducted a risk assessment of our supply chain by taking into account:
- The business services rendered by the suppliers
- The presence of vulnerable demographic groups
- A news analysis and the insights of labour and human rights groups
This assessment will determine our response and the risk controls that we implement.
Policies
Red River Software Ltd operates the following policies for identifying and preventing slavery and human trafficking in our operations:
- Whistleblowing Policy – we encourage all employees, customers and suppliers to report any suspicion of slavery or human trafficking without fear of retaliation. We provide a confidential helpline to protect the identity of whistle-blowers.
- Code of Conduct – our code encourages employees to do the right thing by clearly stating the actions and behaviour expected of them when representing the business. We strive to maintain the highest standards of employee conduct and ethical behaviour when operating abroad and managing our supply chain.
- Purchasing Code – we have updated our Purchasing Code and supplier contracts to make explicit reference to slavery and human trafficking.
Supplier due diligence
Red River Software Ltd conducts due diligence on all new suppliers during on-boarding and on existing suppliers at regular intervals. This includes:
- Assessing risks in the provision of particular services
- Requiring improvements to substandard employment practices
- Sanctioning suppliers that fail to improve their performance in line with our requirements
We require all suppliers to attest that:
- They don’t use any form of forced, compulsory or slave labour
- Their employees work voluntarily and are entitled to leave work
- They provide each employee with an employment contract that contains a reasonable notice period for terminating their employment
- They don’t require employees to post a deposit/bond and don’t withhold their salaries for any reasons
- They don’t require employees to surrender their passports or work permits as a condition of employment
Awareness
Red River Software Ltd has raised awareness of modern slavery issues by sending an email that is focused specifically on modern slavery to all our staff, which explains:
- Our commitment in the fight against modern slavery
- Red flags for potential cases of slavery or human trafficking
- How employees should report suspicions of modern slavery
This statement has been approved by the board of Red River Software Ltd .
